Los Angeles may be a few hundred miles south of Silicon Valley, but it's a hub brimming with up-and-coming tech startups.
We've compiled a list of 25 of the hottest startups in the Los Angeles area. To do so, we spoke with investors, employees, journalists, and active members of the city's tech scene.
Though our list includes some big names, it also features young startups, some of which you may not have heard of yet.
Acorns is an app that automatically invests your spare change for you.
What it is: When you download Acorns, you link up your credit or debit card to the app. Every time you use your card to make a purchase, Acorns rounds the amount up to the next dollar and invests the change from that purchase into a diversified portfolio of index funds.
The app, which was founded in 2012, is perfect for beginning investors because it doesn't require much knowledge of investing, and it charges you only a dollar a month if your account has a balance of less than $5,000.
Founders: Jeff and Walter Cruttenden
Funding:$32 million from e.ventures, Greycroft Partners, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Math Venture Partners, Garland Capital Group, Sound Ventures, Jacobs Asset Management, Groundswell Investments, Steelpoint Capital Partners, and Cruttenden Partners
The Black Tux is an online-only tux rental site.
What it is: The Black Tux, founded in 2012, is the first online-only tux rental service; it does it all, from suit design to production to rental logistics. When you decide to rent, The Black Tux sends you measuring tape and instructions on how and where to measure.
Your measurements are used to perfectly tailor your tux, which arrives in the mail one week before your event. Total rental cost averages around $150 — far cheaper for better quality than many other tux rental services and without the commitment of buying a nice tux.
Founders: Andrew Blackmon, Patrick Coyne
Funding: $15 million from The Raine Group, Menlo Ventures, First Round, BoxGroup, RRE Ventures, Crosscut Ventures, Founder Collective, and Lerer Hippeau Ventures
BloomNation is an online marketplace for florists to promote and sell their arrangements.
What it is: With BloomNation, florists can upload pictures of their own arrangements (so they don't have to rely on stock photos) and enable potential customers around the US to discover and buy them.
It's an easier and more customizable and reliable way to buy and sell flowers. Founded in 2011, BloomNation also helps florists with their online sales, from building websites to point-of-sale systems, e-marketing, and social media.
Founders: Farbod Shoraka, Gregg Weisstein, and David Daneshgar
Funding: $7.2 million from CrunchFund, Mucker Capital, Chicago Ventures, Spark Capital, Chris Dixon, A Capital Partners L.P., and Andreessen Horowitz
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